Pernod Ricard unveils prestige sipping rum

Pernod Ricard has released Havana Club Tributo 2017, a prestige sipping rum blended from aged rum reserves. The second installment of the Tributo Collectiom, it was unveiled at the Cuban Habanos Festival and will have a limited release of 2,500 bottles globally.

Havana Club Tributo 2017 has been crafted by Asbel Morales, Havana Club maestro del ron Cubano, from a blend of base rums and a decades-old aguardiente – or spirit base. The aguardiente is at the heart of this rum, and has been matured in barrels that are over 80 years old. The 2017 edition is bottled at 40% ABV.

Following the success of the 2016 edition, Havana Club Tributo 2017 is on sale in six extra markets this year, totalling 16, from March at the RRP of €350 per 70 cl.

Havana Club claims that this blend of rum reserves honours the maestros del ron Cubano, a role that has recently been declared a Cultural Patrimony of the Cuban nation by the Culture Ministry in Cuba. As such, each bottle of Havana Club Tributo is individually numbered and adorned with the signature of Havana Club maestro del ron Cubano, Asbel Morales. The outer packaging feautres green gold cues evoking the sugar cane lands used for generations in the production of authentic Cuban rum.

Asbel Morales comments: “The extensive reserves at the Havana Club distillery provided us with a wealth of luxurious aged rums to experiment with. By blending together a decades-old aguardiente and our precious rums, we have achieved a totally new rum experience that is lively and complex, with a remarkable dry taste imparted by the original Cuban sugar cane character of the aguardiente. Havana Club Tributo 2017 celebrates the craftsmanship at the heart of the production of premium rum, from the cane to the cask, and we hope rum drinkers around the world will enjoy it.” 

Nick Blacknell, international marketing director at Havana Club International, adds: “We are delighted to have launched the latest edition in the Havana Club Tributo Collection and we look forward to building on the success of Tributo 2016. With only 2,500 bottles of Havana Club Tributo 2017 being released worldwide, we expect the expression to be popular among global rum and dark spirits connoisseurs who are looking for the next authentic Cuban rum to add to their repertoire.”

1 April 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor